Totem pole circuit configurations are widely used in power switching circuits. In such types of circuit configurations, the upper power switch often operates at a high voltage with respect to the circuit common. Because of this, the power supply for these circuits must be capable of operating at substantially high voltages. Thus, many totem pole power switching circuits utilize PNP transistors for the upper power switch and employ multiple isolated power supplies. Such PNP transistors generally lag their NPN counterparts with respect to both voltage and current ratings, and thus, adversely affect the efficiency of the power switching circuits. In addition, isolated power supplies tend to be bulky and significantly increase the cost of the switching circuit.
Because of the foregoing, it has become desirable to develop a power supply system for power switches arranged in a totem pole circuit configuration which eliminates the need for isolated power supplies and/or power supplies capable of operating at substantially high voltages.